Embedded Browsers

Specifically, the embedded web browser is used to display the log-in web page when authenticating using JSON Web Token (JWT). See JSON Web Token.

The add-in uses one of the following two embedded browsers:

WebView2 based on Edge/Chromium
The .NET WebBrowser control based on Microsoft Internet Explorer technology

The add-in uses WebView2 if the appropriate runtime is detected on the local computer. Otherwise, it uses the .NET WebBrowser control. There is no option to choose the embedded web browser. Your default web browser setting in Windows Settings has no effect on the add-in.

WebView2

WebView2 is an embedded web browser based on Edge/Chromium. In order for the add-in to use WebView2, the WebView2 runtime must be installed on each computer where the add-in runs.

You can download the runtime from here: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/#download-section.

You should choose one of the "evergreen" installers. Do not choose the "Fixed Version" option.

Note:

The WebView2 runtime may already be present on your computer if you have Microsoft 365 Apps installed. See Microsoft Edge WebView2 and Microsoft 365 Apps.

The .NET WebBrowser Control

If the add-in cannot find a compatible WebView2 runtime, it uses the .NET WebBrowser control instead. The .NET WebBrowser control is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer technology.

There is no special installation required. This control is part of Microsoft .NET.

Since the .NET WebBrowser control is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer, make sure that Internet Explorer has been upgraded to version 11 and that all Microsoft updates and security patches have been applied.

Note:

Support for the .NET WebBrowser Control is deprecated and may be removed in a future release. You should install the WebView2 runtime as soon as possible.

How to avoid using Internet Explorer

If you wish to avoid using Internet Explorer with the add-in, make sure that the WebView2 runtime is installed as described above.

Technical Notes Regarding WebView2

If there is any problem with the log-in web page, please contact the page owner. Such pages are outside the scope of the add-in. Let the page owner know that the page needs to be compatible with Edge/Chromium.

When the add-in uses the WebView2 browser control, the browser's "SmartScreen" feature is disabled. See the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen Frequently Asked Questions or the documentation for more information

The WebView2 browser control uses a user data folder on the local computer to store browser data, such as cookies, permissions, and cached resources. This folder can be found under:

%LocalAppData%\Oracle\Visual Builder\

For example, C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Oracle\Visual Builder\EBWebView

See Manage the User Data Folder in the Microsoft Edge documentation.

Technical Notes Regarding the .NET WebBrowser Control

If there is any problem with the log-in web page, please contact the page owner. Such pages are outside the scope of the add-in. Let the page owner know that the page needs to be compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer.

When troubleshooting a problem, be sure to pay special attention to your IE configuration. There are key settings under Internet Options that can influence the behavior of the add-in. These settings include the LAN settings, Security settings, Languages settings, and Certificates settings.

Note:

The add-in installer sets the FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION feature control key for Excel in the registry to IE 11 mode. See Browser Emulation in the Microsoft Internet Explorer documentation.